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Money

I’ve been trying to understand money better – yes for investments and retirement but no, not just for retirement. Simply to understand it.

I was brought up to tithe, to donate to others and you’d think 10% would be easier when you make more money but it’s not. When you make say $50,000 – $5,000 is a lot to donate. I’d reframe it to avoid resentment – I’d think of it as a thanksgiving offering for the gift of being able to earn that kind of money. And really, I never felt in “need” of what I gave away and to this day I don’t have debt – an amazing thing to admit to in an age where debt is drowning everyone.

I listened to an audio seminar and learned money was simply a form of energy exchange … having little to no “real” value in and of itself … it represents value. That’s true, paper money is just paper and only has value if the government says it does.

I watched a webinar series about your childhood formative years and money and your “glass ceiling” for earnings. That seems true too. Over the years, on average, my earnings have been about $35,000 – the amount my father made. My mom once told me that she asked my dad if he wanted us kids better off than him (my mom had risen out of a poverty situation and was better off financially than her parents and wanted the same for us) and my dad answered “no, not better off, but it would be ok if we were doing as well as he did.” I guess some part of me knew that energetically and wanting to please my father, I have an imaginary upper limit for earnings that I’m still trying to break through.

I took a self-improvment course and one of the learning quizzes taught us about how we view money. Money can be seen as power to some, pleasure to others, security or even freedom. My results showed that money equated to safety … and lack of money to a feeling of being vulnerable.

And I thought about those things and I wondered how much money I would need to feel “safe.” And does money ever really equate to safety … I mean my money could disappear overnight and no one can take their money to the grave.

It occurred to me that I was sinning by placing the feeling of safety on money when God is the source of my true security. And then I remembered that money even told us that – “In God we Trust.”

I’m going to work on that more. I’m going to try and understand money by placing it under God. And come to think of it, that’s going full circle – back to trusting and offering thanksgiving by tithing.

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.